Preparing for meditation today,
First start by giving yourself this time.
Remind your mind that meditation is a time to turn inward,
Away from the responsibilities and stresses of the world.
All of those tasks and stressors will be there when we are done.
Take the next few moments to settle in as you need,
Adjusting the body,
Clearing the mind,
And preparing for practice.
Then as you're ready to begin,
Start by noticing the next inhale and next exhale.
Make no effort to control the breath,
Just focus your attention on it.
Each individual inhale and each individual exhale.
Notice how the body moves.
Use one full breath to observe just your chest.
Use one full breath to observe your shoulders.
Use one full breath to feel the breath in the ribcage.
And use one full breath to focus and observe the belly.
Simply noticing the breath,
Feeling it move through the body,
Appreciating its rhythm,
Knowing that throughout the day this rhythm continues without our notice.
Inhales and exhales working for us,
Bringing in our life force.
Throughout the day our body responds just as it is now without our notice.
Appreciate this simple unconscious act that our body does for us all day,
All night,
Non-stop.
Consider now the heart.
Feel the heart beating.
Maybe you can feel it in your chest or your throat or even feel the pulse in your belly.
Become aware of this feeling,
This beating,
For a few moments.
Notice each beat to its individual cadence.
Again,
An action we do nothing to make happen.
The heart moving our blood throughout the body all day and all night,
Non-stop.
Appreciate this simple unconscious vital act that our body does for us,
Takes care of for us.
Our breath,
Our heart need nothing extra.
We have everything we need within us.
How can we honor these important acts of living,
These simple yet vital unconscious acts?
Nothing extra,
Nothing special,
Just focusing on what we need to live with vitality.
We can improve our breath by consciously noticing it with our meditation practice,
Working to deepen and slow the breath.
We can strengthen our heart with exercise,
Healthy eating,
Working to help its task be consistent,
Steady,
And strong.
But we have all we need within us right now.
We are whole.
We are complete.
To live in non-excess,
We need to moderate the rest of our senses as well.
Tuning in to our inputs,
What is helping?
What is hindering?
What is freeing?
And what is a dependence?
We can find a balance in all of our senses.
With your next inhale,
Turn your focus to the eyes.
Notice the left eye,
The right eye,
Both eyes together.
Feel your eyes.
What do these eyes see each day?
Are we seeing good examples of what we want in our life?
How can we train our eyes to see the ample abundance,
To look for good and contentment,
To turn away from temptation and excess?
Move your awareness to the ears.
Notice the right ear,
The left ear,
Both ears together.
Notice your ears receiving sounds,
Listening,
And consider what you are hearing from others,
What you are hearing from yourself.
Are we surrounded by those who encourage us,
Who challenge us lovingly,
Who support us?
Are we telling ourselves positive affirmations or stinging criticisms?
Train your ears to hear the support and the love,
To listen to only what is real,
Accurate,
And helpful,
To turn away from anything that undermines and degrades.
And turn your attention to the mouth.
Feel sensation in the mouth.
Notice the sense of taste in the mouth,
The upper lip,
The lower lip,
The inside of the mouth,
The teeth,
Gums,
And tongue.
Feel all the parts together as a whole.
Consider that sensation of taste and what we are ingesting.
How do we feel after we eat?
Are we balancing eating for vitality and energy but not passing that boundary into eating to excess?
How can we train the mouth to want quality over quantity,
Nourishment over indulgence?
Remind your mouth how the body feels when it eats for energy and not out of boredom,
When it eats for nourishment rather than temptation.
And consider what the mouth says.
Does it tell stories of abundance and contentment,
Of encouragement and support?
Or does it tend to tell stories of criticism and of lacking?
How can we train our mouth to only share stories about what we have and the feeling of completeness rather than sharing desires and wants and what we are missing?
Train the mouth to share stories of contentment as we listen to those who reflect those same views,
Who fill our ears with words that help fill us up rather than tear us down.
Sharing and listening as our eyes see these good examples,
This fullness,
This completeness,
This nourishment.
Living in non-excess is not living in want.
It's honoring the living a full life,
A contented life.
It's moderating our senses,
Balancing our temptations against our needs.
It's testing the quality of our inputs.
It's putting ourselves in position to succeed and feel content.
Come back to feeling your heart beating.
Come back to feeling the breath.
Each inhale,
Each exhale.
Come back to the knowledge,
The truth,
That we have everything we need.
We simply need to care for it.
The rhythm of your heart,
The rhythm of your breath.
Beginning to return to the world.
Feel the body.
Maybe invite some small movements in the fingers,
The toes.
Slowly allow the mind to drift back to this world.
Feeling content,
Feeling full,
And feeling complete.
Namaste.
